CPT calls for a national transport strategy to include long-distance and charter coaches.
Coaches, which provide vital connections across the United Kingdom, must be placed at the heart of local and national transport planning, the Confederation of Passenger Transport urges today. In a submission to the Government’s consultation on an Integrated National Transport Strategy, the CPT calls for steps to ensure that coaches are able to reach their destinations swiftly and affordably, with adequate parking and drop-off facilities.
Coaches provide 450 million journeys annually – equivalent to 40% of all rail journeys. They take 600,000 children to school every day, support 81,000 jobs, and bring visitors to towns, cities, and tourist attractions, all of which spend £8.3 billion a year.
The CPT’s submission calls for:
- Coaches to be allowed to use bus lanes by default – unless a specific reason is provided for excluding them
- The creation of new categories for Clean Air Zones to allow for charging of high-polluting vehicles while exempting coaches
- A requirement for local transport authorities to collect data on the current and potential coach market and to include coaches in Local Transport Plans
A study by KPMG for the CPT last year found that just one coach arriving in a town each day can deliver £1 million of economic value annually to the local economy. The coach sector is a substantial employer, employing 54,000 people directly and a further 27,000 in its supply chain, with high concentrations in areas such as Cornwall and mid-Wales which are reliant on coach connections to reach major hubs.
More broadly, CPT argues for the national transport strategy to set out a hierarchy of travel modes which places walking and cycling at the top, followed by public transport – including buses and coaches – then ultra-low emission and shared vehicles above single user cars. This hierarchy should inform priorities in transport policy and in public spending.
The Government’s joined up strategy should be supported by long-term, multi-year funding settlements for local authorities, enabling effective strategic planning and integration between buses, coaches and other modes of transport.
Graham Vidler, Chief Executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said:
“It is a breath of fresh air to hear the Government talk about integrated transport, with a vision of seamless door-to-door journeys for people going about their daily lives across England.
“Buses and coaches are vital in achieving the Government’s goal of joined-up transport. Taken together, they offer the most sustainable, affordable and convenient alternatives to travelling by car.
“Too often, coaches have been left out of transport planning. It is time to put that right. The coach is the nation’s hidden public transport network – often stepping in when other parts of the transport network are unable to deliver. “Given the vital role they play, buses and coaches should get priority over cars on the road network. And passengers deserve a safe, convenient place to disembark at the end of their journeys.”
“The golden thread running through all transport policy should be a hierarchy of sustainability. Walking, cycling or public transport should be the modes of choice where possible, with cars only used where necessary. That principle must inform any 21st-century transport strategy.”
The Department for Transport set out its ambition for an integrated strategy in November, pledging a vision for how transport across England can evolve over ten years so that more places offer seamless door-to-door journeys. A call for ideas for the strategy ends this month.
